Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Giving you time to navigate away from this page if you don't want to know our baby's gender..**************It's a .................................................................................................

.....boy.

Yippee!!! I have always wanted one girl and one boy, and so my dreams are fulfilled.

My very first baby dream during this pregnancy was about a little boy, so ever since then, I have just had a feeling that this time around, we would be having a boy. Then, when my morning sickness lingered beyond the end of the first trimester, I started to wonder whether my intuition was wrong and I was carrying a girl. However, I started feeling better, pretty darn great, actually, around week 14, so the boy thoughts kicked back in. Turns out I was right!

And there is NO DOUBT that this baby is a boy. Our sonographer was peeking around down near the baby's legs, and we happened to catch one shot in which the baby's legs were spread and there IT was, sticking up proudly as if the baby was saying, "Hey Mom and Dad! Check it out! No hands!" I know with some ultrasounds there is a shadow of a doubt because the sonographer isn't able to get a good view of the baby's goods...there's no doubt with our little guy.

So, we are very, very excited to be expecting a son. Even saying it out loud is unreal to me...I am having a son. How does one raise a boy? I have a daughter and a younger sister--I have no experience with raising boys!!! Luckily, I think my husband might have a clue on this one.

Another piece of good news came out of the ultrasound--based on the measurements taken and the very detailed look the doctor and sonographer had of the baby, our chances of the baby having Down Syndrome were reduced by 50%. Everything looks perfect structurally, and the baby isn't showing any of the soft markers that Downs babies show. The doctor was not able to find any major defects and told us that he didn't think any further testing was necessary. He wasn't able to rule it out completely, saying the only way to tell for sure would be to have an amnio, but he felt secure in reducing our chances significantly. Double yippee!!

I'll post some photos from the ultrasound once I have a chance to scan them in.